It's the first time he'll play the song in front of the Music Row "establishment" and millions of fans who don't follow him, and he'll be pushing mainstream country music's edge quite a bit further than folks are used to.

"Could be crowd-surfing, could be mosh pits," Church said. "They could be throwing cans at me."

Few country songs will be so polarizing as the title cut and first single from Church's fourth album, "The Outsiders." Church sat down recently to talk about his new album, set for release Feb. 11, his upcoming CMA performance and the freedom he feels success has given him as he prepares to take the next step in his career.

Church's last album, "Chief," won the CMA and Academy of Country Music album of the year awards, sold 1.5 million copies and changed his career. The album's success moved him from promising songwriter to arena-filling star. He did it by tapping into the growing hunger for hard rock sounds in country.

Instead of touring extensively this summer, the 36-year-old North Carolina native, who's up for two CMA awards Wednesday, including male vocalist of the year, decided to focus on recording. He enlisted longtime producer Jay Joyce again and wrote 121 songs for consideration. They cut that down to the 11 or 12 that will appear on the new album, brought in Church's band and started to bounce ideas off each other — not at all the way the typical country album is recorded.

"We've had the ability after every record to feel more emboldened by what we did on the last record," Church said as he sat near a fire pit on his land in West Nashville with yellow jackets buzzing his Ray-Bans. "And I think with this one, with the success of 'Chief,' we were a little bulletproof."

First up was "The Outsiders," chosen for its invitation to fringe dwellers to join the circle. The Black Sabbath-influenced metal moments that mark the song's mesmerizing last minute came during a jam with Church on Telecaster and resemble nothing you've heard on country radio.

"If you go past that, it's a cliff," Church said. "Sometimes I feel like we're leaning over it."

Some of the most striking moments would seem odd to your local program director. There's a dark trilogy, for instance, that includes a dramatic recitation of the Shel Silverstein poem "The Devil and Billy Markham." ''Roller Coaster Ride" actually feels just like one. And album-closer, "The Joint," is an oddly affecting cross of Tom Waits and J.J. Cale.

At the same time, there are several cuts that would make that program director tap his foot. "Cold One" includes a hilarious twist, and there's a run of three love songs in the middle of the album.

"They're bold," Church said. "I'm interested to see what people think about them. I always say the songs are mine till the moment we release them, then they're the fans' (songs). I'm very anxious. I have a lot of anxiety to see what people think about what we've done."

Long-running Christian act Stryper is back with a new album, The Covering, and this time it's paying homage to the artists that shaped the band, with 12 hard rock covers of everyone from Judas Priest and Ozzy Osbourne to KISS and Black Sabbath.

“Way, way, way, back before we were even Stryper, we were a band called Roxx Regime and we were playing covers,” frontman Michael Sweet told The Tennessean. “It’s been kind of an ongoing thing because every time we would soundcheck, we would break into ‘The Trooper’ or a Priest song or whatever because those were the songs that we grew up on. Obviously, we still enjoy the music and it was such a heavy influence on our lives, that it really helped us come to fruition as musicians, ourselves. It’s an important part of who we are and we wanted to show the world that.”

But if you think it hasn’t occurred to the band how ironic it is for a Christian act to be covering such hardcore material, think again. In fact, the members have spent much of their careers challenging peoples’ ideas on what a Christian act ought to be.

“Manmade laws and stereotypes don’t always line up with your faith and we are against that. Oftentimes, it’s just how you interpret the song,” adds Sweet.

Stryper returns to Nashville for a show at The Wildhorse Saloon on Friday night, and fans may be in for a few surprises.

“We’re gonna burn the guitars and the amps and smash everything!” teases Sweet. “You know what, we’ve always joked about that and maybe one of these days we will smash some gear, but we just have to be able to replace it. But people can expect a high-energy, powerful night with some new songs. We want people to leave with a sense of renewal after hearing God’s word. Hopefully people are touched and moved by that.”

Stryper performs at The Wildhorse Saloon on Friday, March 18. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are available by visiting WildhorseSaloon.com.

Click to see a gallery of photos from Ozzy Osbourne and Slash's Bridgestone Arena concert (this image of Osbourne: Karen Kraft/The Tennessean).

It was a tale of two Ozzys at the outset of the rock icon's concert at Bridgestone Arena Wednesday night.

Before Ozzy Osbourne the heavy metal architect, Black Sabbath co-founder and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer took the stage, we saw Ozzy the pop-culture personality, with a spoof video montage that digitally inserted the Prince of Darkness into scenes from Jersey Shore, Twilight and The Hangover. It was a lengthy presentation, designed to bring the Ozzy brand -- less visible since his Osbournes reality TV series ended six years ago -- up to speed.

But when the video ended and Ozzy excitedly shuffled onto the stage, we saw the side of the 62-year-old singer that's never needed an update.

"Let the madness begin!" Ozzy exclaimed as he and his band ripped into his 1983 song "Bark at the Moon." The music was more than enough -- his sneering wail remains in commendable shape, and new guitarist Gus G plays with surgical precision -- but Ozzy's one-of-a-kind persona and infectious enthusiasm were the heart of the show.Continue reading →